The Letter
by HSMLUVER218
Summary: It had been 10 years. 10 long years, since she had left him, since he had kissed her, since he had heard her voice telling him she loved him, since he had stroked her luscious curls. It had been 10 years since Gabriella Bolton had died. Oneshot


**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Ok here is my new one-shot!! I've had it my head for such a long time and I'm finally getting it out. I am warning you it is sad, really sad. Enjoy…**

It had been 10 years. 10 long years, since she had left him, since he had kissed her, since he had heard her voice telling him she loved him, since he had stroked her luscious curls. It had been 10 years since Gabriella Bolton had died. And with each year that passed Troy Bolton's heart ached more.

It was early, very early, but Troy couldn't sleep. He always got up early on this day. Quietly, he made his way downstairs to the privacy of his office. He walked over to his desk and sat down slowly, closing his eyes gently and inhaling deeply. He opened his eyes and they immediately focused on his favorite pfficture. It was a picture of her.

He picked it up and traced his fingers over the outline of her face. She didn't know the picture was being taken and that's what made it so special. He caught her being her natural self. Her face glowed, like it always did when she laughed. He brought the picture to his chest and closed his eyes trying to prevent the tears that he could feel coming.

Flashback

Troy was driving to the hospital, well more like racing to the hospital. He had gotten a call from Gabriella at 2 in the morning, telling him that she needed him. Of course he had gotten out of bed and taken their daughter to Chad and Taylor's house, so that he could be with Gabriella.

Gabriella was sick. Very sick. Over the last couple months it had gotten worse though. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer 3 years ago. At first treatment had been going well, but 2 months ago her health had started to decline rapidly.

Finally Troy arrived at the hospital and he rushed up to Gabriella's room. He entered the room and his gaze fell on Gabriella, who was laying in the bed looking out the window.

"Hey" he said softly. She turned her head and smiled weakly, motioning for him to come over. He walked over, knelt beside her and stoked her curls gently.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Troy…" Gabriella said slowly. "I…love you…so much"

"I love you too" Troy said kissing her forehead softly. He pulled away and immediately saw sadness in her eyes.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Troy, I…" she began slowly taking a deep breath before continuing "I called you here…because I have to say goodbye"

"Gabi, what are you talking about? You said goodbye to me and Abby before we left this afternoon." Troy said. Gabriella shook her head.

"No Troy, I mean goodbye forever." She said softly. Troy started shaking his head.

"No…no Gabi, don't say that. You're going to get better and you are going to grow old with me, ok?" Troy answered. Gabriella brought her hand up to Troy's face.

"No, Troy it's my time to go. I just needed to see you one last time, before-" Troy refused to let her say the words he knew were coming next.

"Gabi, no please don't go, I need you, Abby needs you, please" Troy begged desperately putting his hand over hers.

"Troy, listen to me. I have been so blessed. I've met you, you've loved me with your whole heart, you helped give me Abby, but my time is up." Gabriella said weakly tears beginning to stream from her eyes. Troy shook his head

"Gabi…" he began running his fingers down the contour of her face.

"Troy, I need you to promise me two things" Gabriella interrupted.

"No, I won't need to, you are going to be ok" Troy said firmly.

"Troy please" Gabriella said "Please promise me" Troy let out a deep shaky breath.

"Ok, anything, I'll promise you anything." He said quietly taking her hands in his. Gabriella broke one of hand away from Troy's grasp and reached to the bedside table on the other side of the bed. She handed an envelope to Troy.

"Promise me you'll open this in 10 years" she said softly. Troy took the envelope and held it tightly tears beginning to fall down his face.

"Ok I promise."

"Now, I need you promise me you'll get remarried and have more children." Gabriella said weakly.

"No, Gabi, I can't do that. My heart only beats for you" Troy said.

"Troy, please, Abigail needs a mother and you've always said you want 5 kids." Gabriella said softly.

Troy squeezed his eyes shut to try and prevent the rush of tears that were coming "But I only want those children with you Gabi"

"Troy, I just want you and Abby to be happy, so please promise me you'll do that, it's all I want" She pleaded tears rolling down her face.

"Ok, only if that's what you want" Troy gave in tears continuing to fall.

"Thank you" Gabriella said quietly reaching her hand up to Troy's cheek. "I love you so much, don't you ever forget that" she said softly.

"I love you too, more than words can describe" Troy said before he placed a soft kiss on Gabriella's lips.

"Tell Abby I love her" Gabriella said weakly, her eyes closing slowly.

"Gabi, please, stay" Troy pleaded his voice cracking.

"Estoy siempre aquí" Gabriella said weakly as she took her last breath.

"Gabi, no, please" Troy cried as he watched the machine next to her flat line. Suddenly nurses and doctors rushed in.

"Sir we need you to leave."

"No, I can't leave" Troy argued.

"Sir" the nurse repeated sternly pushing Troy towards the door. Unwillingly Troy walked out of the room and over to the opposite wall. Leaning against it he slid down the fall, running his hand through his hair. Tears fell freely as grief came over him. He felt like he couldn't breathe, like his heart had stopped beating, because he knew no matter how hard the doctors tried she had made up her mind. Gabriella was dead.

End Flashback

Tears fell down Troy's face as the memory replayed over and over in his head. He drew in a sharp breath to try to make the tears stop. Her words rang in his head, _"Please promise me"_

He'd kept one of his promises, 2 ½ years after Gabriella's death he'd met, Laura, she'd lost her husband to the war in Iraq so they understood each other. Troy loved her, but not in the same way he'd loved Gabriella. The loved Troy and Gabriella had shared was deep, it was true, it was pure.

Now, 10 years after Gabriella's death, he had 5 children just like he'd wanted. His oldest Abigail, who was the spinning image of Gabriella, but had Troy's personality. Then he had his children with Laura, Matt who was 5, Megan who was 3 and then the twins Cassie and Carly.

Now it was time to keep his other promise – the envelope. He reached out his shaking arm towards the bottom desk draw. He pulled the draw open and lifted out the envelope. Setting the envelope on his desk he ran his fingers over his name which was neatly written in Gabriella's handwriting.

Carefully, he turned the envelope over and opened it. Taking a deep breath he pulled out the two pieces of paper inside. Both piece of paper had been sealed with a sticker. One had Troy's name written on the outside and the other read Abigail on the front. Troy set Abigail's letter back on the desk and stared at his letter.

Why was he so nervous? It was just letter. But it wasn't just any letter it was a letter written by _her_, her last words to him. Troy took another deep breath, closed his eyes gently and broke the seal. Slowly he opened his eyes again and began to read,

Dear Troy,

I think it's wise that I start out by apologizing. I am sorry for leaving you, but the disease won. It was going to win, no matter how long I held out. As much as I wanted to spend as long as possible with you, I figured it would only pain you more if held out longer and then died. I would have given anything to stay with you for longer, but it's not what fate wanted.

I was so lucky to have found you Troy. You really are the most amazing man any women could have hoped for. You always found a way to marvel me at how much you cared or how well you knew me. You helped give us the best possible gift, the gift of life. In the short time I spent with Abigail, I loved her more and more every day. I'm sure you feel the same because I couldn't have asked for a better father for our daughter. I know now that's she's 16 it's hard for you to let go, but it's important that you do. I know you want to, but you can't protect her from everything. She's going to get hurt sometime and you just need to be there for her and let her cry on your shoulder. She's a smart girl Troy and I know you've raised her well. Trust her decisions.

Please talk to her Troy. Tell her about me. I know you haven't, I know you too well. She deserves to know about me, I want her to know about me. I know it hurts, but please Troy I bet it hurts her not knowing about me.

All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy. I know I took away some of your happiness and I am so so sorry for that, but please don't let me keep you from living a joyful life, everyday of your life. Just remember, you'll see me again in heaven, I'll wait for you. I love you so much Troy, don't you ever forget that. Estoy siempre aqui.

All my love and so much more,

Gabi

xoxoxoxox

Troy read the letter over and over each time hearing her voice in his head reading it to him. Tears fell down his face. She had written this only a few hours before she had died. He ran his fingers over her impeccable handwriting.

His thoughts drifted to last night's argument as he thought about Gabi's words.

Flashback

Abigail walked into the living room with a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies. She cautiously walked over to her father who was sitting on the couch and sat down beside him.

"Here daddy I brought you these" She said sweetly holding out the plate of cookies and the coffee. Troy turned and eyed her suspiciously before taking a cookie, the coffee and focusing his eyes back on the TV

"Is that shirt new? Because it looks fantastic on you" Abigail continued sweetly.

"What do you want Abby?" Troy asked staring at the T.V

"Why would you even think that? Can't a daughter compliment her father without out being asked what she wanted?" she asked innocently.

"I'm not stupid Abby, I used to do that all the time with my parents. What do you want?" Troy asked.

"Fine" she gave in, "Well…you see…I was just wondering…if maybe…possibly…"

"Spit it out" Troy said still not taking his eyes off the screen.

Abigail took a deep breath.

"Well, this guy, Jesse, asked me to go to the movies with him on Saturday and I really want to go. So can I please go?" she said quickly.

"No" Troy replied simply.

"What?" Abigail asked in disbelief.

"I said no" Troy repeated.

"But dad, he's a really nice guy and I REALLY like him. Please dad!" Abigail begged.

"No"

"Why dad? Can you please say more than no? WHY?"

"Because I'm your father and I said no" Troy said sternly turning for the first time to face Abigail.

"That is not a good reason dad!" She yelled standing up

"It's a good enough reason for me" Troy retorted also rising to his feet.

"Do you not trust me?" she demanded.

"It's him I don't trust" Troy replied angrily.

"You've never met him!" Abigail yelled.

"You forget I was 16 once, I know how teenage boys think Abigail, they have one goal, ONE GOAL" Troy yelled.

"So when you met my mom all you wanted was to get into her pants?" Abby spat.

"Don't bring your mother into this, this has nothing to do with her" Troy said, his voice dangerously low.

"This is my mother, dad! How does it not have anything to do with her! She would have let me go!" Abigail screamed.

"You don't know that" Troy said.

"Exactly dad because I know NOTHING about her! She died when I was 6 and I barely remember her. YOU don't make it any better because YOU NEVER talk about her! You keep her all to yourself!"

"Abigail…" Troy warned.

"No dad, just stop! Because you just enjoy destroying my life don't you! So you know what I hate you." She yelled.

"Abby, please don't" Troy said softly.

"I HATE YOU! Do you hear me? I. HATE. YOU." Abigail screamed before turning and running up to her room, slamming the door behind her.

End Flashback

"It's just hard Gabi" he whispered.

The sun shone through Abigail's window as she opened her eyes slowly. She could hear her siblings laughing and playing downstairs with each other and Laura making breakfast. It was strange though she couldn't hear her father playing basketball outside like he did on every weekend morning.

She sat up in bed a rubbed her eyes before she looked over at the clock.

9:03

It wasn't until she noticed the date on the clock that she suddenly felt a wave of sadness come over her. Today was May 5th, the day her mother died of cancer. She wasn't exactly sure of the details, that was all that Taylor and Sharpay had told her.

She reached over to her bedside table, opened the draw and pulled out the one picture she had of her mom. She had found it at her grandparent's house and had begged them to let her keep it. It was from when her parents had been in high school or at least that's what her grandparents said.

The picture was of her mom and dad singing to each other on stage. They were standing close to each other, their bodies almost touching. Their eyes were locked. Her mother was glowing beautifully. Abigail always thought her mom was absolutely stunning and hoped on day she could look just as beautiful as her.

When she first saw the picture she couldn't actually believe her dad sang. But as she got older and discovered her own singing voice it didn't come as such a shock. She just wished he would sing for her, but he always told her he didn't sing anymore.

After she found the picture she'd asked her father about it, but he just stared at it for a while then abruptly got up from the table and left. But that wasn't anything unusual; her dad never spoke of her mom. She didn't understand really, why he wouldn't talk about her. In the picture they seemed so in love, so happy.

Gently, she placed the picture back on the table and got up from her bed. As Abigail approached the door she noticed an envelope on the floor, it looked like it had been slid under the door. She bent down and picked it up. Flipping it over she saw her name written in handwriting she didn't recognize.

Confused, Abigail flipped it over again and opened it. She pulled out the letter and began to read.

Dear Abby,

It's so hard to believe that by the time you're reading this you'll be 16 years old. I bet you're a beautiful young woman. God I wish I could be there with you, I really do. I wish we could do all the things a mother and daughter are supposed to do together.

You really are the perfect mix of your father and me. You had your father's personality; in fact I bet you still do. You are both so spontaneous and outgoing. You both have tempers about the things that matter most to you. Which is probably why you'll start fighting with him more. If I had to guess the fighting is probably about boys, or staying out late. Am I right? Your father has always been protective, especially over loved ones. When he knew he couldn't protect me from the cancer, it killed him inside, he'll never admit it, but I could see it in his eyes. Losing me hurt him so much, you're the only thing he has left of me. He's afraid of losing you too. I bet you look exactly like me, I bet he sees me when you walk down the stairs in the morning, or when you're eating breakfast. I know he loves you so much and even though it seems like he's ruining your life he's just afraid that he'll lose you too. That he'll lose the last piece he has left of me.

Make sure you talk to him. Knowing him, I bet he rarely mentions my name though. So it's hard to find out what I was like. Talk to his parents, they have old videos, photos and I'm sure lots of photos. I want you to know about me, because I can't imagine not knowing what my father was like, he died when I was 5. It will take your father some time to open up, but I know he will.

I'm so sorry to have left you at such a young age. I would give anything to be in your life, I really would. I love you so much, Abby, so so much, please don't ever doubt that.

All my love and more,

Mommy

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Abigail's hands began to shake, her entire body started to tremble. This wasn't just a letter, it was a letter from her mother, an insight to what she was like.

She suddenly decided that she needed to speak to her father immediately, she needed more. After carefully folding the letter back up and after placing it on her bed, Abigail walked downstairs into the kitchen, where Laura was making breakfast.

"Is dad here?" Abigail asked upon entering the kitchen.

"I'm pretty sure he went for a run. He wasn't here when I got up this morning." Laura explained, "Would you like some eggs?"

"Um, I'm not really hungry, thanks though" Abigail answered. Laura nodded and turned back to her cooking.

As Abigail left the kitchen, she had never felt the incredible urge that she did now to find out about her mother. Thinking that the best to start would be in her father's office, she headed straight there.

When she entered she went straight to his desk, where she knew there was a picture of her on his desk. She grabbed the photo fame and carefully ran her fingers over her mother's face.

Why was this the only picture her father had? The letter had said that it had hurt her father to lose her mother, but then why didn't he have more remembrances of her? Abigail wanted to know her mother, she wanted to see her mother, she wanted to understand what her mother was like. She needed more than the two pictures she had seen countless times.

After her mother's death, her father and her had moved out of the house she had grown up in and they had given away almost everything, including family photos and home videos. Now she knew exactly where to find them.

After a short bus ride and quick walk Abigail stood on the porch of her grandparents' house. She reached out and rang the doorbell, soon after the door opened and Lucille Bolton appeared in the doorway.

"Abby!" she greeted happily, hugging her granddaughter, "I wasn't expecting you? Is your father here? Laura? Matt? Megan? Cassie? Carly?"

Abigail shook her head, "No, it's just me. Can I come in?"

"Yes, yes, of course, let me just get your granddad" Lucille said, stepping aside so that Abigail could pass through.

While Lucille went off to find Jack, Abigail set her bag down, walked into the kitchen and sat on one of the stools. Soon, Jack entered the kitchen along with his wife. He held out his arms and embraced Abigail in a hug.

"Abby! It's so good to see you. How are you?" He asked.

"I'm ok. Can I talk to you guys about something?" Abigail asked, she decided it would be best to get straight to the point.

"Of course, what's wrong?" Lucille asked softly.

"Is everything alright at home? Troy hasn't done anything stupid has he?" Jack asked.

"No, he hasn't done anything stupid. It's actually about my mom" Abigail said softly. Jack and Lucille looked confused,

"Laura?" Lucille asked. Both of them were confused, Abigail never referred to Laura as mom – were they missing something?

Abigail closed her eyes tightly to realign her thoughts. As she reopened them, she whispered,

"No, my mom – Gabriella"

Both Jack and Lucille had no idea what to say. This was the first time Abigail had ever come to them asking for information about her mother, apart from the time she had found the photograph. It had finally clicked in their heads, that today was the 10th anniversary of Gabriella's death – both of them had completely forgotten.

"Oh sweetie" Lucille whispered as she watched tears fall from her granddaughter's eyes. She wrapped her arms tightly around Abigail's body.

"She wrote me this" Abigail said, her voice shaking as she pulled out the letter from her pocket. Jack took it and quickly read it over. A short gasp escaped his lips as he finished reading the letter.

"Luc, look, she wrote this just hours before she died." He whispered handing Lucille the letter.

"Oh, Abby your mother loved you so, so much. You meant the world to her. While she was sick you used to come into her hospital room and she used to play with you or sing to you, no matter how tired she felt." Lucille explained, softly, still holding her granddaughter tightly.

Abigail pulled away slowly and looked up at her grandma, with teary eyes,

"Can you tell me about her? Dad doesn't talk about her." Lucille nodded,

"Oh gosh, I wouldn't know where to start. Gabriella was an amazing woman. She was absolutely brilliant; Troy can thank Gabriella for his grades while they were together." Lucille said softly.

"She knew your father better than any of us could ever imagine. It marveled me, the way they looked at each other. I remember the very first time Troy brought her home for dinner. She was so nervous, but as soon as she relaxed, she fit right in. Did you know that she was the only girl Troy ever brought home during high school? He had a lot of girlfriends and I saw most of them at school, but Gabriella was the only one he brought home, she was the only one who could finish his sentences, who made him light up, who improved his basketball game." Jack explained.

"More like controlled his game" Lucille reminded him.

"Very true. Sometimes she made it worse. One night Gabriella didn't show up for one of Troy's games. When Troy came out on the court and didn't see Gabriella, he first looked to Taylor and when she didn't know where Gabriella was he started to worry. And when he started to worry…don't even get me started, it was bad." Jack said shaking his head. "During half time I had to take him off the court, substitute in another player. I remember watching him sit on the bench, immediately dialing her number on his cell phone. Then he tried her home phone and still got nothing. By this time he was past worried, he was frantic. He just kept dialing her cell phone and her home phone over and over until finally her mother called. I watched the color drain from his face and then he ran, he ran so fast out of the gym, I didn't even had time to ask him where he was going. It turned out that Gabriella had been in a horrible car accident. She hit her head – hard, which rendered her unconscious. 15 hours. She was unconscious for 15 hours and in those 15 hours, I had never seen Troy in the state he was in. He refused to leave her bedside, he wouldn't eat or sleep."

"Wow" Abigail whisper breathlessly, "He really loved her, didn't he?"

"She was everything to him." Lucille whispered. "Would you like to see pictures? Videos? After she died Troy gave all of their photos and videos to us"

Abigail nodded her head vigorously, "More than anything" Lucille disappeared from the kitchen and returned moments later with a large photo album.

"Their friends made this for them as a wedding gift." Lucille explained, handing Abigail the book.

_Troyella_

The title was written in beautiful cursive and there were hearts drawn all around it. She carefully opened the book and gazed down at the first picture. It was one of her parents sleeping on a couch together. Gabriella had her head rested against Troy's chest and he had her arm wrapped tightly around her. Underneath there was a caption that read, 'Since when do friends sleep like this?' Abigail smiled as she turned the page. The next one was of the pair holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes. The caption read, 'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!' Abigail laughed slightly as she flipped to the next page. The caption of this one read, 'FINALLY!' The picture was of her parents kissing in the rain.

As Abigail continued to look through the book, she saw pictures of them posing, or making silly faces, but her favorites were the ones where neither of them knew the photo was being taken.

In the last ten years, every time Gabriella's name was brought up, Troy almost immediately changed the subject. It wasn't just that talking about her made him sad or hurt his heart, it completely ripped his heart in half. It was as if someone was dangling her right in front of him and he couldn't reach out a get her, touch her, hold her. It hurt the most to think that while he was talking about the old memories, he would never be able to make new ones with her. But now after his long jog he was headed back to his house fully aware that he had to talk to his daughter. Even though the thought of it scared his shitless, it was what Gabi wanted so he _needed _to do it.

Finally when he arrived back at his house, he went straight up to Abigail's room and knocked lightly on the door. When no response came he knocked once more. Finally after one final attempt he opened the door only to discover that Abigail was not in the room. Hoping that she was somewhere else in the house, he quickly made his way downstairs.

Troy went straight to the kitchen, hoping to find Laura and the kids eating, maybe he was just in time for lunch. However as he entered the kitchen, he could only see dirty dishes in the sink waiting to be cleaned, meaning that his family had already eaten. Had he really been gone that long? He quickly glanced at the clock – 3:35. Obviously he had.

He then moved into the family room and was thankful to find Laura sitting on the couch, reading. He walked over and sat down, making his presence known.

"Oh, hey" she greeting, setting her book down.

"Sorry I haven't been home, I just needed a jog" Troy apologized. Laura nodded, she understood Troy's pain.

"Do you know where Abby is?" Troy asked, after a silence that lasted only a few moments.

"Well, when I called her down for lunch she wasn't in her room. So assumed she was with you because she was asking for you this morning when she came downstairs." Laura explained. Troy felt his entire body go numb,

"She wasn't with me" he whispered.

"Troy, we shouldn't worry, I bet she's just gone out with some friends, why don't we just call her?" Laura suggested. Troy quickly pulled out his cell phone, standing up in the process and dialed Abigail's number.

With each call that ended with Abigail's voicemail, he became more frantic. On the fifth try he left a quick voicemail, and shut his phone firmly, grasping the phone tightly in his hand.

"Why don't we try calling some of her friends, maybe she went to their houses?" Laura offered.

Troy looked at Laura for a few moments, deciding what to do before he began nodding his head,

"Ok, how about you call Jess, Desiree, and Lizy and I'll call Amy, Emma and Katie" Troy said.

"Deal"

45 minutes later, none of the six girls had any idea where Abigail was. To say that Troy was worried, would now be an understatement, he was terrified. It seemed as if with each person that didn't know where Abigail was he was losing his daughter a little bit more.

He sat at the kitchen table with his head resting in one hand and his cell phone up to his ear. This was now the 17th time he had tried and failed in trying to reach Abigail on her cell.

"Isn't there anyone else, who might know where she is? Maybe some of your high school friends?" Laura suggested.

"Naomi" Troy whispered. Naomi was Taylor and Chad's eldest daughter. Even though Naomi was a year older than Abigail, the pair were best friends. They confided in each other about everything. "Abby wouldn't go all the way to Santa Fe to see her, would she?"

"There's only one way to find out" Laura said. Quickly dialing the Danforth's number Troy prayed that Naomi would have some sort of answer. He stood up from the table and began to walk throughout the house, as he waited for someone to pick up.

"_Hello_" _Taylor greeted warmly. _

"Taylor" Troy exhaled. "Is Abby there?" he asked quickly.

"_No, she's not" Taylor answered. _

"Shit" Troy muttered.

"_Troy, what's this about?" Taylor asked suspiciously. _

"I don't know where Abby is and she won't pick up her phone." Troy explained quickly.

"_Troy" Taylor said calmly, "She is 16 years old. This is not like when she ran off at the zoo and you couldn't find her. She's a big girl now, she can take care of herself" _

Troy let out a deep breath, he could hear the entire Danforth family in the background arguing about what to do. He could hear Chad say, 'Don't forget what day it is' and Taylor reply, 'I know what day it is, but this doesn't have anything to do with her' _It had everything to do with her._

"_Troy? Troy? Are you still there?" Taylor asked._ Then he heard another voice, Naomi's, arguing for the phone, 'Can I please talk to him? I have to tell him something. It's about Abby'

"Put Naomi on"

"_I'm putting you on speaker" Taylor said. _

"_Troy, Abby called me last night" Naomi said. _Troy winced – the fight.

"_She was really upset about the fight you guys had. She couldn't understand why you wouldn't let her go. But I think she was more confused about why you won't talk to her about Gabriella." Naomi explained. _

"I know. I know" Troy said softly. "I just don't know where she is"

"_If last night Abigail was upset about not knowing about her mother, then don't you think today she would be even more upset?" Taylor reasoned. _

"My parents" Troy muttered.

"_Huh?"_

"She's at my parents' house. The letter, Gabi would have told her to go there" Troy said quickly.

"_What letter?" Chad asked. _

Troy grabbed his car keys and ran out of the house, jumping into his car. "Do you remember that envelope she gave me" Troy said.

"_Yeah, she said to open it in 10 years."_

"It was two letters, one for me and one for Abby" Troy explained, backing the car out of the driveway. "So knowing Gabi, she would have known what to say and she would have known to tell Abby to go to my parents."

"_Oh wow" Taylor whispered. _

"That's what I thought"

"_Well, I'm guessing you probably driving at hyper speed, so I'll just let you concentrate on the road. We'll talk to you later." Taylor said. _

"Ok, bye guys"

"_And Troy, I know I say this every year, but Gabs would be so proud of everything you've become" Chad added. _

"Thank you"

Troy heard the beep on the other end of the phone signaling the phone call was over. He shut his phone and pushed the acceleration pedal harder, in an attempt to get to his parents' house faster.

After going through every photo album Abigail had started on the videos. She'd watched her parents' wedding first, which had made her cry. She wasn't sure why she was crying at the end, but the vows were just so beautiful and their first dance was breathtakingly romantic.

She was currently watching a video narrated by her father. Apparently it was for a school project, but he had taken some extra footage of his friends.

_Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Sharpay, Jason and Kelsi were all scattered throughout Troy's family room, while Troy held the camera. He was scanning the room, making jokes about the different items in the room as well as his friends in it. The front door burst open and Gabriella hurried in, carrying a huge platter. _

"_Sorry I'm late" she panted. "These cookies took longer than expected to bake and then I couldn't find my shoes and urgh it was a disaster" _

_Troy and the rest of the gang just laughed. _

_As Troy got up to help Gabriella with the cookies Chad stood up to make an announcement, _

"_Ladies and gentlemen I think we should all take a moment to remember this day, because for once in her life Gabriella Montez is late." _

_Gabriella sent a glare in Chad's direction. _

"_Haha, funny" Gabriella laughed sarcastically, "I think we should all take a moment to remember the one time in Chad's life that he was on time" _

"_And this in case you don't already know, is the lovely and talented, Gabriella Montez" Troy said, focusing the camera on Gabriella's face. _

"_I still don't understand why you keep that on. I thought you got everything you needed for your project" Gabriella said. _

"_It's fun and besides, don't you want to be able to prove to our children that you really were as beautiful and witty as I said you were?" _

"_Are you implying that one day I won't be beautiful?" Gabriella retorted. _

"_Well, one day you're going to be old and wrinkly." Troy said scrunching up his nose in disgust. Gabriella pretended to be hurt. _

"_But, you'll always be beautiful in my eyes" Troy added softly. _

_A chorus of awwww's came from the girls while Chad led a loud puking noise. _

"_And we'll be able to prove to their children that their parents were always mushy and gushy." Chad reminded them. _

Abigail couldn't help but laugh at the video, she turned her head to look at her grandparents, who sat on the couch, while she sat on the floor.

"I'm surprised Taylor hasn't slapped Chad yet" Jack said. "Oh wait, never mind" he said as, as if on cue, Taylor slapped Chad's head.

Finally, after half an hour of driving Troy pulled into his parents' driveway. He got out of his car and hurried up the front steps and into the house. He could faintly hear the TV playing so he went straight for the family room.

"Abigail Grace Bol-" Troy began, but as he entered the room, he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes glued to the TV screen.

_  
…Can't you feel my heart beat fast,  
I want this to last.  
I need you by my side._

_Gabriella, Taylor, Sharpay and Kelsi were dancing around and belting out the CASCADA song. They were outside and it was pouring with rain, but the girls couldn't care less, they were having the time of their lives._

_'Cuz every time we touch,  
I feel the static.  
And every time we kiss,  
I reach for the sky._

_Can't you feel my heart beat so,  
I can't let you go.  
I want you in my life. _

_As the music slowed down the girls began to sway to the music. Troy had zoomed in on Gabriella who was pointing directly at Troy as she sang the lyrics arms are my castle,  
Your heart is my sky.  
They wipe away tears,  
That I cry._

_The good and the bad times,  
We've been through them all. _

_They lifted their arms above their head as the music built._

_You make me rise,  
When I fall!'Cuz every time we touch,  
I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss,  
I swear I could fly._

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast,  
I want this to last.  
I need you by my side._

_'Cuz every time we touch,  
I feel the static.  
And every time we kiss,  
I reach for the sky. _

_Gabriella began spinning around, her arms held out, looking up at the sky. The smile that danced across her face was bright enough to light up an entire room._

_Can't you feel my heart beat so,  
I can't let you go.  
I want you in my life._

_'Cuz every time we touch,  
I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss,  
I swear I could 't you feel my heart beat fast,  
I want this to last.  
I need you by my side._

"_You guys should probably come inside now!" Zeke yelled. "You're going to get sick"_

"_So, what? Can we just do one more song? Please!" The girls pouted. _

"_Fine, but if you are sick tomorrow, we are not sitting by your beds all day" the guys reminded them, pushing play on the next song. _

"They were all sick the next day" Troy whispered. Sure enough the next segment began and there was Gabriella lying in bed, sick.

"_Troy…" she groaned, "Do you really have to record this? I look like crap."_

_Gabriella had a bad cold. She's ended up staying outside longer than any of the other girls and had paid for it the next day. Her nose was bright red, her eyes were heavy and tried and according to Gabriella her head felt like it weighed 1000 pounds._

"_Babe, I'm sorry but I think the world needs to see what happens when you stay out in the cold rain for too long" _

"_It was fun though" _

"_I'm sure it was." Troy smiled, "But it's not so much fun now, is it?" Gabriella shook her head. _

"_I hate being sick" Gabriella mumbled. "But thank you for staying with me" _

"_What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't stay with you" Troy whispered. "Why don't you try to get some sleep? You look tired." Troy let his hand run through Gabriella's dark curls. Gabriella nodded._

Troy tried desperately to remember the feeling of Gabriella's hair in his hand. This was the first time he had heard her melodic voice in 10 years. He couldn't help but take note of her beauty. Even while she was sick, she had still managed to look beautiful. And in the rain, god in the rain she couldn't have looked any more amazing.

He had completely forgotten that there were other people in the room, until he heard his daughter say,

"Daddy?"

Blinking twice he looked around the room, realizing that his parents were in the room too.

"I think we should probably go now" Lucille said quietly, pulling her husband's arm.

For once in his life, Troy had no idea what to say to his daughter. Abigail came running up to his and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry. I don't hate you. I was just mad" she whispered. Relief washed over Troy as he hugged his daughter back.

"It's my fault" he whispered. "I'm the one who should be sorry. You deserve to know" Abigail pulled away and looked up at her father gratefully. She led him over to the couch and the pair sat down, facing each other. Troy took a deep breath. He had never been so afraid taking to his daughter.

"Your mother was quite simply an amazing woman. She had this way of brightening anyone's day. Somehow she always knew what to say to someone to make everything ok. She would walk into a room and the first thing she would say usually made at least one person in that room smile or laugh.

She was brilliant. That's really the only way to describe her intelligence. I don't know how she did it, but she was absolutely brilliant. She wasn't just book smart. Not to say that she couldn't memorize a list of facts because she could. But she was clever, thoughtful and always had a witty response. I used to wonder if you'd end up with my lack of intelligence or if you'd get her intelligence. And sure enough I discovered that you manage to use some of the exact same comebacks without even realizing it. You're just like her you know" Troy said, his voice softening at the last sentence.

"She said I'm like you" Abigail whispered. Troy smiled,

"But you're more like her. I swear everyday you walk down those stairs you look more and more like her. You laugh the same way she does. You stare at something before you make a decision just like her. You eat your toast the exact same way she does. You give the same puppy dog pout as her. You both refuse to eat bananas and I've never seen anyone who stresses over school the way you pair do."

"How do you remember all that?" Abigail asked softly.

"Because I think about her every day." Troy whispered.

"I think about her too, you know. Every day. I used to make up stories about what she was like. Every year on Mother's Day I always made two cards, one for Laura and one for mom" Abigail whispered, her voice beginning to crack. "I used to tie them to a balloon and watch them go up into the sky, in hopes that maybe she would get some of them" Abigail felt tears begin to fall from her eyes. Troy engulfed her in a tight hug, as she cried into his chest. Troy rubbed her back and whispered,

"I changed my mind. You can go with Jesse. You were right, Gabi would have let you go"

**A/N: WOW…that was long. I expected it to be long, just not this long! I figured I had best end it there, before I go on for too much longer. I really hope you enjoyed it. I know there was a lot packed in…too much maybe?? Please tell me what you think!! Thank you so much for reading!**


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